Christmas Stories
by freakyanimegal
Summary: Oyako Christmas story. Three-shot. Anna loves to tell stories to her baby boy, especially when Christmas is right around the corner. Fairy tales? Yep! Fables? Yep! Myths, legends? Yep! Making her spouse the object of her 'tales? You bet your candycanes.
1. Fairy Tales

**Yes, I am writing a 'cute' story. Oyako. Much. (Yay! ^_^) **

**I know I have a lot, but this is a Christmas-ish story. It'll be done by Christmas. ****I'm planning on this being three (short) chapters.**

**Merry Christmas!**

**For my baby sister, who I love very much. n.n**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ToS or anything else.**

**Fairy Tales**

"Mmmoooommmmyyyyyyyy!!!!" Lloyd cried.

It was a small room in the basement of the Inn, the current home of the Aurions. The family never stayed in one place more than a month or

two, due to the Father's urging and their own safety. Currently they had been here about two weeks and they only had one bedroom. The l

arge bed was occupied by the parents of the little boy sleeping in the smaller one.

"Ugh.." Kratos groaned. "Anna...your son's calling you..."

"MY son?" the woman growled in her pillow. "Why can't you go to him mister high and mighty angel?!"

The woman slammed the pillow over her head, never one to take losing sleep well. Kratos sighed and pulled himself out of bed, reluctantly

walking over to his son's bedside.

"What is it, Lloyd?" he sighed.

"I don' wan you! I wan' Mommy!" Lloyd cried, wiping his eyes.

"Mommy's very tired." Kratos said. "What's wrong-?'

"I WANT MOMMY!" Lloyd shouted.

Kratos flinched, his already better-than-normal hearing being bombarded by his son's crying.

"Anna!" Kratos snapped. "Your son wants you!"

"MY son?!" Anna snarled, sitting up. "He's your son too you know!"

"MOOOOMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!" Lloyd cried louder.

"Anna! Please!" Kratos said, panicking.

"Gah...Men," Anna muttered, getting out of bed, "Can't leave them to do anything....What's wrong, Lloydie?"

"Mommy! I had a bad dweam!" Lloyd cried, holding his arms out to his mother. "It was scawy!"

"Oh...shh shh shh..." Anna sat next to him, hugging her two-year-old. "It's okay...it's all

okay now...just a dream..."

"It was awful!" Lloyd cried, hugging her back. "I-! I-! I had a dweam, and Daddy was in it an-!"

"Me?" Kratos asked.

"Uh-huh!" Lloyd sniffed. "An-! An-! You had wingys!"

Kratos paled, Anna went wide-eyed and then forced herself to say something.

"Wingys...?" Anna asked.

"Uh-huh! An' he was fightin' me! An' then he put the sword up an' he almost killed me!"

Lloyd wailed.

"Oh Lloydie..." Anna cooed, "That would never happen. Daddy loves you very much."

"..." Kratos sat down on the bedside, stroking Lloyd's hair, "Of course that would never happen, Lloyd. I love you and your mother- and

Mommy, very much. I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"R...really...?" Lloyd sniffed.

Kratos smiled softly. "Really."

"....Daddy? You tell me a bedtime stowy?" Lloyd said suddenly.

Kratos blinked.

"A story...? It's late, Lloyd, you should try to get some sleep-"

Lloyd's eyes began to tear up and his lip quivered. Kratos flinched and Anna made a sympathetic 'aw' sound.

"Come on, Kratos." Anna said. "Tell him a story."

"But...but I..." Kratos paled.

"Pppllleeasseee?" Anna and Lloyd gave identical puppy-dog eyes.

"...Well.....all right." Kratos sighed. "....Once upon a time there was a....a..."

"You're bad at this." Anna huffed. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named...Anna!"

The family found themselves in an old medieval castle, Anna dressed like a princess.

"What the-?" Kratos gasped. "How did-?! What is this-?!"

"We're using our imaginations, Kratos." Anna said.

"Imagina...ton?" Lloyd asked his mother, who was holding him.

"That's right, Lloydie!" Anna smiled. "With imagination, you can go anywhere, be anyone, and do anything!"

"Wha-?" Kratos stared at his spouse. "Imagination can't do this! It's illogical! Mental abilities can't change your surroundings!"

"What's Daddy talkin' about?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, he's just not good at using his imagination. He's a stiff," Anna said.

"Hmph,"

"Anyway!" Anna smiled. "Once apon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Anna! Unfortunately, the beautiful princess was locked in a

tower, very far away from her home!"

The castle suddenly turned into a tall tower, Kratos gaped.

"What the-? How are you doing this?!" the seraph gaped at his wife.

"I told you Kratos, it's imagination." Anna said.

"Daddy's not good at it." Lloyd said.

"No, he isn't, is he?" Anna pondered. "We'll just have to get him in the story too!"

"Wha-?"

"To save her, from far far away was the handsome prince, Kratos!" Anna grinned.

Kratos was suddenly on a path in the middle of the woods wearing shining armor, a cape and a small gold crown.

"What in the name of-?" he gaped. "A cape? What am I? Yuan?"

_Ahem, as I was saying_ Anna's voice said. _The handsome Prince set off to save the __beautiful princess!  
_

"..." Kratos crossed his arms. "This is ridiculous..."

_I SAID, THE HANDSOME PRINCE SET OFF TO SAVE THE PRINCESS!!  
_

Kratos flinched, "...Very well then..."

_Accompanied by his trusty steed, Noishe!  
_

Noishe appeared beside Kratos, he gave a confused whine and then looked around.

_Hm...nah, protozoan's aren't good steeds....let's make him a horse._

Noishe turned into a horse, both Kratos and Noishe gasping in shock.

_What 'bout an elephant, mommy?! _Lloyd's voice came. _Or a dolphin?! Or a TURTLE?!_

_No Lloyd, a horse is fine. Maybe next time._

_Awwwwww...._

_Anyway, the handsome prince mounted his steed and set off!  
_

"..."

_SET OFF!!  
_

Kratos flinched and mounted Noishe, "Sorry about this, old friend..."

Noishe whined, well, actually it sounded like a neigh. Noishe began to trot off, Kratos still questioning his sanity.

_The handsome prince rode off until he came to a...uh....bridge! With a giant troll!  
_

Kratos and Noishe came to the bridge and a huge troll was blocking the way.

Kratos chuckled.

"That's it?" he asked.

_A woman troll! In a really crabby mood that nags alot!_

"..." Kratos swore. "That might be a problem."

"You can't get past this bridge! It's MY bridge! Mine!" the troll nagged. "Doesn't anyone respect that?!"

"Listen, ma'am." Kratos stated calmly. "I just need to cross the bridge quick, then I'll be out of your way."

"Why ya need to cross the bridge? Huh? You in a hurry or something? Huh?"

"Not particularly." Kratos stated. "It's just that I'm more afraid of my wife than I am you."

_I heard that._

"You wanna pass? Well know what? You're not the only one that wants to pass! Lots of people want to pass! But-"

Kratos tuned the rest of it out and simply rode past her while she was busy nagging to no one.

_Well...that was quick. Ahem, after passing the nagging troll, the handsome prince came __across a burning building!_

"..."

_With people inside it screaming for help! So the handsome prince leapt in to the rescue!  
_

"Anna, this is all a figment of your imagination, why should I do anything?"

_Daddy's mean...._ Lloyd sniffled.

"..." Kratos sighed. "All right all right...."

_The handsome prince leapt into the burning building and rescued a baby, his mother, __and about five cranky old people!_

Kratos did so only to have the baby throw up on him and the old people say 'in my day, we saved people faster!'

"I was alive before 'your day'." Kratos snapped. "Now who's child is this?"

"My baby!" the mother said. "Oh thank you so much!"

"You're welcome." Kratos stated.

"You're my hero!" the woman kissed his cheek.

"..." Kratos gaped.

_H-hey! WHAT THE HECK?! Then a nineteen ton safe fell out of the sky and hit the flirty __woman!  
_

A safe fell out of the sky and was about to crush the woman when Lloyd said something.

_Mommy! Don' hurt the lady! She's gotta baby! You's mean!_

_Grr...oh fine then. Then the safe exploded-_

_Mommy!_

_...Into a bunch of flowers, there, happy?_

The safe turned into flowers and gently showered onto the ground. Kratos cast tidal wave to stop the fire before riding off once again on

Noishe. Kratos kept going until him came to the castle.

"So this is the castle?" Kratos looked up at it.

_The castle was surrounded by a moat!_

"..." Kratos looked unfazed.

_With crocodiles and sharks!_

"..."

_In a moat of LAVA!  
_

"Crocodiles and sharks can't live in lava." Kratos pointed out.

_Then they's LAVA crocodiles and sharks!  
_

_That's right, Lloydie! What a smart little boy!_

_Hee hee!_

Kratos sighed "So what do you want me to do?"

_Ahem, the handsome prince made his way across the rickety rope bridge when the rope __snapped!  
_

"I'm already on the other side." Kratos stated, the bridge falling into the lava.

_You're no fun! Where's the action?! Where's the suspense?!_

"The only way any of this could be suspenseful is if I was protecting someone from mortal peril, which I always am."

_Then all of a sudden, he found-!  
_

"What? A dragon? A demon?" Kratos said nonchalantly.

_Even worse! The living-dead laundry!_

Kratos sighed and drew his sword, slightly agitated as hoards of old laundry crawled toward him moaning for his brains.

"This is r-"

Suddenly, Kratos found himself sitting back in bed with Anna, their young son sleeping soundly in Anna's lap.

"Aw...he's sound asleep," Anna smiled softly, "sure conked out fast."

"..."

Kratos felt a small smile come to his lips as he watched Lloyd's steady breathing, the child's hands clinging tightly to his mother's night-gown.

The woman kissed his forehead before looking up at her spouse.

"He can sleep with us tonight, right?" she asked.

"...Very well," Kratos said simply.

The couple looked down at their offspring a moment more.

"...You know it's December, right?" she asked.

"What of it?" Kratos asked.

"...Christmas, you dork," she said, smiling slightly, "...I wanted to make this special, for Lloyd..."

"Anna-"

"Last year we could barely do anything for him," she sighed, "I know we couldn't because we...well, circumstances, but I really want to do it all

for him this year!"

"...We're living in the basement of an inn,"

"So?" she smiled. "C'mon, Kratos...let's at least celebrate it this year."

"..." Kratos sighed.

"...We're doing it," Anna said sternly, "or else next time I'll make you get attacked by tomatoes."

Kratos visibly flinched. Anna, smirking now that she knew she had won, laid back down beside her baby boy.

"...Very well," Kratos sighed.

If it made his family happy...he really couldn't think of an excuse not to.

**I WAS going to make Anna tell the story of the Nutcracker, because I just watched The Nuttiest Nutcracker...where the Prince was voiced **

**by Cam Clarke (Kratos' voice)... I was going to have Kratos-Nutcracker, Anna-Marie and etc...n.n' but I decided this was more to my **

**liking. It wasn't very Christmasy yet, but it will be... Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas until it's around the corner, anyway. :D**

**Hope you liked it, Kai-kai! n.n**


	2. Fables

**Okay, maybe this'll be more than three chapters, seeing as I feel particularly Christmasy this year. n.n Last year it took me until like, **

**three days before to even feel like it was...oh well. n.n That, and my sister wanted more...n.n I love my sissy...**

**O.o'**

**Er...I own nothing? Enjoy! n.n'**

**Oh, and I've decided to make Kratos tell one or two...X3 eheheeheh...**

**Fables**

Kratos drew back and sighed before looking upon the tree he had set in their living room of sorts. Anna inspected it a minute, deciding for

herself whether or not it was satisfactory. After a minute the brunette smiled and then nodded, pleased.

"Great!" she chirped. "It's just right!"

Kratos said nothing and brushed some needles off of his glove, examining the splendid pine they had managed to procure. It was a good

seven feet, wide and supple, and though it took up most of the 'living room' it was still a very nice sight to see.

"I'm so glad we have windows in here, I can't take it so dark..." Anna sighed in relief.

Thankfully, the family had managed to find a small home in the past week. By small, as in it had what was needed and nothing more, but it was

better than the basement they had stayed in previously. It was to their great luck that the seller of the house had been so charitable as to sell

it to them quickly, seeing as the time of year it was and their small son. It had cost them almost all the money they had, but Kratos easily made

up for that by slaying a monster that had been terrorizing a popular travel route by which people went to see their families. The mayor had

been more than eager to hand over a few thousand gald.

"It looks great! Now let's decorate it!" Anna chirped.

Kratos couldn't help but smile a bit as his wife flitted over the meager box of ornaments they had purchased, her enthusiasm was

unending...he supposed that was what he loved about her.

"Hm...we don't have a lot," Anna bit her lip, "...Oh!"

Kratos sighed, she had an idea.

"Kratos, come on! We're going to go out and collect pinecones!"

"...Pinecones?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded, "we can decorate them with ribbons and hang them on the tree!"

"...I-"

"Can we Daddy? Pwease?" Lloyd tugged on his pant-leg.

"...All right," he smiled softly.

"Great! Let's go!" Anna grinned, giddy at the very thought.

After they were all 'bundled up', Kratos lifted Lloyd onto his shoulders and they went out into the light forested area nearby their new home.

They began to collect any bits of forestry that could possibly be an ornament, Lloyd rushing to his father with a branch of a fir tree.

"Daddy! Look what I gots!" he said. "Daddy! Daddy!"

Kratos knelt down on his knees to look at his son's face, the boy grinning ear to ear.

"See! Isn't it pretty?" he grinned.

"Yes, it is..." he said softly.

"Lloydie, that's just a branch," Anna said, smiling slightly.

"...But it's..." the boy's face fell.

"Anna, why...why don't I tell Lloyd a quick story?" Kratos said.

"What?" she stared, mouth agape. "You want to tell him a-!?"

"Is that so surprising?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, kinda," she laughed, "but...sure, go ahead!"

"A story?" Lloyd looked up at his father.

Kratos smiled and took the branch from Lloyd.

"Lloyd, did you wonder why some of the trees are green in winter, but the others are not?"

The boy shook his head, eager to hear what his father would say.

"...A long time ago, all the trees stayed green all year long..."

The surroundings changed, though the snow was still there all the trees where bright and green again.

"W-woah! Kratos, did you do this?!" Anna gaped.

"...I suppose I did..." he said slowly, "..."

"Keep going! Keep going!" she grinned.

"Yeah!" Lloyd grinned as well.

Though unnerved, Kratos decided for once to disregard it as he lifted Lloyd into his arms.

"Every year in fall, before the snow would come, the birds would all head south where it was warmer,"

The snow disappeared, though the air was still crisp and cold.

"There was once a little bird..." Kratos slowly looked to his wife.

"What?" she blinked.

The angel smirked.

"A bird named 'Anna',"

A little brown bird appeared in Anna's place, Kratos and Lloyd disappearing from the 'story'.

"What the-?! Hey!!" Anna chirped, irritated.

_Come now, Lloyd likes it, Kratos chuckled._

_Yay! Daddy story now!_

_Ahem, there was a little bird named Anna who was going to head south, but she had broken her wing._

"Hey! I didn't hurt you!" Anna chirped, her wing in a sling.

_The little bird was in trouble, she needed to find somewhere warm to stay since she could not fly-_

_The birdie going to freeze!? _

_Don't worry, Lloyd, and listen,_

_...'Kay... Lloyd mumbled._

_So she went around to all the trees, asking for shelter._

"...I'm going to ask TREES?"

_You made me fight undead laundry. Yes, you are going to ask trees._

"Oh...fine," she huffed.

Anna hopped over to the first tree, looking up at it.

"Uh...Hey, mind if I stay in you for the winter?"

_But the tree was not happy, it wanted to spend winter alone without any birds._

"Stay in ME? All winter?" it scoffed. "So you can peck at my bark for bugs, and stink up my branches? No way!"

"W-what? You-! You stack of firewood! I'll freeze!" Anna cried, angry.

"Not my problem, birdie, look somewhere else," it said.

"Yeah? Well-! ...I'm arguing with a tree," she said.

_Yes, and you're also a bird, now go ask the next one._

"...You're getting it for this, buster,"

_Mommy's not gonna do the story...? Lloyd whimpered._

"...Okay! Fine! Next tree...hey, Mister- um...Maple!"

"Yes?" the tree asked.

_Yet again, the bird asked for shelter, and yet again the tree rejected her._

"What? Of course not, you should've flied south like the other birds," it scoffed.

"But I can't fly!"

"Well then, it's survival of the fittest now isn't it?" it scoffed

"Why you-!"

_Anna, no swearing in front of the child._

_Daddy! Why are all the trees being mean to Mommy-Birdie?_

_Because they are not nice trees, Kratos said don't worry, it will get better._

_Kay..._

_The bird continued asking the trees, but all of them said no. Days had past, and the first snow began to fall..._

"...Well this stinks," Anna said, shivering.

She hopped past a pine tree.

"Hello there, little bird, what's wrong? Why haven't you gone south?" the pine asked.

"I broke my wing and I can't fly," she said, "now I'm going to freeze."

"Aw....well, you can stay in me if you like,"

"SERIOUSLY!?" Anna chirped.

"Of course," the tree said, "make yourself comfortable."

_So the bird went into the pine's branches, and though she was protected from the snow, she was still very cold._

"Brr...." Anna said. "Sure, I didn't freeze YOU."

_No, but you quite literally sent me into the fire._

"Picky picky!"

_She was still cold, so the kind pine offered her its needles to make a nest._

"Oh no!" Anna said. "I couldn't possibly! You're already shielding me from the snow!"

_Hearing this, the fir tree which stood next to the pine spoke up._

_The fur tree? It growded fur?_

_...No, that's just its name, Lloyd._

_Oh...but it'd be cool, right? Fur trees would be softed, and warm..._

_...Yes, most likely._

"Please stop talking about warmth..." Anna shivered.

"You are cold?" the fir tree heard. "If you are, then I don't mind giving up some parts of my branches to make you a nest."

_But the little bird refused._

"That's okay, I'm not THAT c- ACHOO!...Okay, thanks..."

"No problem," the fir tree said.

_So the bird made a nest, now warm and dry._

"Sweet-! I mean...tweet! This worked out nice!" Anna grinned.

_Hee hee, Mommy said 'tweet'!!_

_...Yes, she did.... Ahem, so, the little bird was all set for a few hours before she became hungry._

"Oh yeeaaahhhh...what am I supposed to do for food?" she sighed. "Man this stinks, I hate you, Kratos."

_I love you too, Anna,_

_Why does Mommy hate Daddy!?_

"O-oh no! I didn't mean it, sweetie! I'm sorry!"

_Your mother was joking, Lloyd,_

_Oh....so what happens next?! What?!_

_Heh, well, it was then the spruce tree, which stood on the other side spoke up._

"Food? Huh...well, I have some berries you can eat," the spruce tree said, "feel free."

_Again, the bird refused._

"I couldn't take your berries!"

"Nonsense," the tree said, "I have plenty! Help yourself!"

"...Gee, thanks!" Anna chirped.

_And so the pine, fir and spruce trees sheltered the bird as the snow picked up. After a while, Celsius swooped by, bringing the heavy snow with her._

_Cell sweee us...?_

_Celsius, the spirit of ice and snow._

_Oh...cool!_

"You mean 'cold' right?" Anna grinned.

Silence.

"What?"

_Mommy made a joke! Lloyd laughed._

"See? LLOYD likes the joke," she huffed.

_...Anyway, Celsius swooped through the forest and noticed how the three trees were helping the bird, and how all of the other trees would not help _

_her._

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Celsius smirked at Anna. "How kind...and usually I don't give compliments like that. As for the REST of you..."

The summon spirit of ice turned to glare at the rest of the trees.

"How much of a jerk can you be, not to help a poor little bird in need?" she glared. "Feh...fine! I'll teach you a lesson for being so 'cold'."

_So Celsius snapped her fingers, causing all of the trees to lose their leaves except the ones that helped the bird._

"AH-!" cried the maple.

"It's cold! So cold...!" cried the birch.

"Without your leaves to keep you warm, yeah," Celsius smirked, "you're cold of heart, so I just made you cold in body to go along with that,

ain't it special?"

Anna stuck her tounge out at all of the other trees.

"Nyah nyah!"

Anna appeared standing back in the snow, Lloyd staring starry-eyed at his father as he finished.

"And so, the pine, fir and spruce trees stay green even in the winter for their kindness," Kratos smiled.

"Because they helpded the birdie?" Lloyd asked.

Kratos nodded.

"Yes,"

"That just goes to show you, kindness keeps you warm!" Anna laughed.

"..." Kratos said.

"...What?" she asked.

Lloyd hugged Kratos, smiling.

"Thanks for the story, Daddy!" he chirped.

"...You're welcome," Kratos smiled, hugging him back as Anna smiled.

...Yeah, kindness did keep you warm..

**:D!**

**I feel like I've just downed a mug of hot chocolate, eaten a candycane wrapped in a blanket in front of the heater with the radio playing **

**Christmas music and the tree all bright and-! n.n SKLEE! I love this time of year! ...Though I haven't had a candycane yet...(mutters)...Oh **

**well. n.n Only a matter of time, nay?**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Merry Christmas! n.n**


	3. Ballet

**Guess what!? I finally had a candycane! :D SKLEENESS!!!! n.n**

**...I own nothing? ...n.n'**

**CANDYCANE! **

**Ballet**

"It looks gorgeous!" Anna grinned.

Kratos smiled softly as his wife held their son up, looking upon the tree they had decorated. It sat tall, supple, green, glinting and all around

beautiful. The ornaments sparkled in the light and the entire object appeared as if it was glowing..

"Now we just need to put up the star!" Anna said.

"Stawr?" Lloyd asked.

"You put a little star on top of the tree," she said.

Lloyd's face lit up.

"I LIKE STAWRS! I WANNA PU' UP THE STAWR! I WANNA!"

"But Lloydie, you can't reach..."

The child began to whimper.

"...No...stawr...?"

"Daddy's going to put up the star-" she stopped.

She had another idea.

"Kratos! Why don't you pick Lloyd up so he can put the star on?" she grinned.

Kratos paled.

"What? But what if I drop him?" he said, trying not to stammer.

Anna smiled and handed Lloyd to him.

"Oh be realistic, you dropping ANYTHING is impossible," she smirked.

"B-but-"

"YAY! Daddy gonna help me! Daddy and mes gonna put up the stawr!!"

Lloyd hugged his father and the expression on Kratos' face told Anna she had won.

"..A...all right," he sighed.

"YAY!" Anna and Lloyd cried in unison.

So Anna handed Lloyd the star, instructing him to be very very careful with it. Kratos brought Lloyd to the tree and then slowly lifted his child

up, the usually stoic man looking nervous as the toddler fiddled with the object before setting it at the top.

"YAY!"

With a sigh of relief the Seraph quickly brought his little cherub down into his arms, smiling at him.

"I put up the stawr!" he grinned. "Don' you wike stawrs, Daddy?"

"...Yes, I do," Kratos smiled. "...In fact, I have a story about a star-"

"NO FAIR!" Anna shouted. "It's my turn!"

Kratos looked at her.

"I wasn't aware we were taking turns-"

"Well we are! Give me the kid!"

Anna snatched Lloyd from Kratos and stuck he tounge out at him, going over to sit down on the sofa. Kratos 'dot dot dot'ed before walking

over to sit by her.

"All right, I'll tell you one of my favorite stories," Anna smiled.

"Stawr?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, this one does involve a star..." Anna grinned. "All right, once upon a time there was a young girl named Clara, was waiting for her

parents to come home Christmas eve-"

"Are you sure you don't want to name her 'Anna'?" Kratos smirked.

"I-! ..." Anna smirked.

Oh no, she had another idea.

"Yes, There was a beautiful, intelligent, awesome girl named Anna," she grinned

Their living room turned into a parlor of sorts, the area mimicking that of a more wealthy family and Anna wearing a fine dress standing by the

window.

"I've never been in a story I told, but what the heck," she grinned. "All right, so the beautiful young girl was waiting for her parents to come

home when-"

_I know this story, _Kratos said_ then her little brother Fritz came in-_

"Hey! I'm telling this st-!"

A young boy raced in, making loud noises as he made his toy soldiers 'fight'.

"No fair!" Anna scoffed at the ceiling then turned to the boy. "Fritz! Can't you quiet down?!"

"Nyeh," the boy stuck out his tounge, "make me."

"Gladly you little-"

_Anna, are you telling the story or not?_

"...Fine," Anna stopped, as did the story, "but the fight was interrupted when her Uncle Droisselmeir came in."

An aging man with a beard came in, smiling.

"Uncle!" both Anna and Fritz cried.

"I figured I'd come check on you two," he smiled, "your parents are running late because of the storm, and all, I thought I should come make

sure you were all right."

"Ahem...Anna scoffed," Anna said, "...boy that sounds weird, anyway..."

She scoffed.

"I'm spending Christmas eve alone with this little brat, what makes you think I'm not all right?"

"Don't be like that," her 'Uncle' smiled, "look, I've brought something for each of you."

"AWESOME! PRESENTS!" Fritz cried, snatching the box.

"Fritz! Say thank you-! ...Oh what the heck, thanks!" she chirped, taking her own box.

Fritz opened the box and found a toy canon, grinning.

"Awesome! Thanks, Uncle!"

"And yours?" he smiled at Anna.

Anna cleared her throat.

"She hesitated a minute before she tore off the wrapping," she said as she tore off the wrapping.

_I thought you were supposed to hesitate?_

"Shut up, Kratos,"

_That's not nice, Mommy!_

"I-...oh fine, sorry," she said, "anyway, she opened her gift to find a beautiful nutcracker."

She opened the box and as she said, inside lay a nutcracker.

"Oh, I love him!" Anna said, hugging it. "It's the best gift I've ever received!"

But then Fritz snorted, grabbing the nutcracker.

"So what? He looks like a soldier, can he act like one?!" he grinned.

"Fritz, give him back-!"

"Can he make quick decisions and daring commands?!" the boy laughed, racing around.

Anna coughed.

"So she chased her brother around the house, trying to get her nutcracker," she said, "but when she caught him..."

She raced after the boy and grabbed him by the collar...and he dropped the nutcracker and it fell to the ground, breaking one of its arms.

Anna yelped.

"You BROKE him!"

"I- I'm sorry-!"

Anna glared and took her nutcracker, walking away in a huff.

"You forget, your brother is young," Uncle Droisselmeir said, "be patient."

Anna snorted and walked off, once she was out of the room she began to speak again.

"Her Uncle thought to himself, that maybe he would give her 'one more gift' before the night was over..."

_How'd mommy know that?_

"I'm the storyteller, I know everything," she said.

_Cool! _

_Indeed, let us let your mother continue._

"Right, anyway, she was so upset that she went to her room and took some cloth, 'bandaging up' the nutcracker," Anna said as she made a

sling for the doll, "once she was done she went back into the parlor and placed him on a shelf where her brother could not get it."

She did so.

"Good night, nutcracker," she smiled, "of all the gifts I've received, I love you the most."

She blew it a kiss and then yawned loudly, laying down on the couch.

"Now," she said as she laid down, "she fell fast asleep so she didn't see when the mice came..."

She pretended to sleep-

_Mouses?_

_Mice, Lloyd, watch._

_...Kay..._

A bunch of mice marched into the parlor, a very large on heading them.

"I am the mouse king!" he shouted. "I want the Star of Christmas! With it, I can steal Christmas forever!"

_...Huh?_

_...I don't believe I know of this version._

Anna sat up, grinning.

"That's because I'm tweaking it," she said.

_...Ah,_

_Tweaky...?_

"Ahem, the Christmas Star will forever shine its light," Anna recited, "for if it should fade, Christmas would be lost forever."

_...Anna, that's ridiculous- _

"You're one to talk, Mister 'The angels bore the Chosen one'," Anna scoffed.

_...Very well, continue._

_Huh?_

"See, the Mouse King wanted to take the star to take over the Christmas Kingdom! A place full of magical people and magical places!" Anna

chirped.

"Get the star, my minions! MWAHAHAHAHA!" the Mouse King cackled.

The mice advanced on the tree.

"Then suddenly, Fritz's toy soldiers came to life and began to fight the mice army!"

An 'epic battle' began between the mice and the toys.

_Go toys!_

"But the mouse army was too strong, and the soldiers began to lose!" Anna said.

"AHAHAH! Christmas will be mine!"

"But then suddenly, off the shelf came a voice!" Anna grinned evilly.

_...Anna, why are you-?_

"Yes, her nutcracker had come to life, but he was no longer a nutcracker! He was the Prince of the Christmas Kingdom, who had come to fight

off the Mouse King!" she cackled.

"The brave, strong, and ravishingly good-looking Nutcracker Prince, Kratos!"

_I knew you were going to-_

A miniature Kratos appeared on top of the shelf, sighing.

_YAY! Mommy and Daddy both is in the story!!_

"Yep! And then the brave Nutcracker Prince jumped from the shelf and- landing unharmed- confronted the Mouse King!"

"...Do I have to-?"

"YES!"

Kratos sighed, doing as he was instructed. He took out a toy 'sword' he had and pointed it at the Mouse King.

"Halt, fiend," he said completely unenthusiastically.

"Oh come on! Put some drama into it!" Anna whined from the coach.

"..."

_Pwease, Daddy?_

Kratos sighed deeply before he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then attempted to 'dramatize it'.

"Halt, you vile vermin! You fiendish felon! Surrender or I shall cut you to ribbons!"

Anna stared and Lloyd made a sound most like a gasp. Kratos hesitated.

"...Was that too much?"

"That was HOT!" Anna grinned.

"..."

_Daddy's a good awktor!_

"Ah! Nutcracker, we meet again!" the Mouse King said.

"We've met before...?" Kratos muttered.

"This time I shall emerge the victor! Prepare yourself!"

"And so, the Mouse King and the Nutcracker Prince began an epic battle!" Anna grinned.

Kratos rolled his eyes and attempted to 'fight' the mouse instead of slaughter it. Anna pretended to sleep a second before pretending to wake

up.

"What the-? My nutcracker! It's alive! ...And fighting a mouse?" she said. "Get away from him!"

Anna took off her shoe and hit the mouse with it, causing him to squeak and glare up at her.

"How dare you! You-! ...You large, giant, freakish-...beautiful, hunk of woman!"

Kratos' eye twitched and Anna grimaced.

"...Ew," she said simply.

"Ew?! I may be a mouse, but my love for you blind! Mad with passion!"

The mouse kissed her feet.

"EW! GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Anna cried.

Anna began to climb up the ladder that lead to the top of the tree, trying to get away from the mouse. Kratos, beyond irritated by this point,

tried to stop him but was busy trying to fight off the rest of the mice.

"And so," Anna smiled, "the girl climbed the tree and began to throw ornaments at the mouse....TAKE THIS! RAT!"

She flung a glass bulb right at the mouse, who yelped.

"I'm a mouse!"

"Whatever!"

Then she grabbed the star.

"YES! The star! Give me the star!" the mouse said.

_No! Don' give him the stawr!_ Lloyd cried.

"It was then that her Uncle came in," Anna said, the scene freezing.

Uncle Droisselmeir came in.

"Uncle!?" Anna cried, pretending she hadn't just said he would come in.

"It's time for a little Christmas magic," he smiled.

Then he disappeared and the star began to fly out of Anna's hands.

"Before she knew it, she found herself floating down the ground, shrinking down the size of a mouse," Anna smiled, then stopped, "...hey! Wait

a minute! I don't want to be small-!"

It was too late, however, seeing as her might authoress powers kicked in. She landed on the ground and growled, crossing her arms in a huff.

"Sure, now I'm surrounded by a bunch of rodents," she muttered.

"Karma," Kratos stated, standing next to her.

"SKLEE! KRATOS!" she cried, hugging him tightly.

"..."

"Get them! Get them!" the Mouse King said. "She still has the star!"

"Huh?" Anna blinked, noticing she was holding a now even smaller star. "..Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

Kratos sighed.

"It appears we are surrounded," he said flatly, looking at all the mice.

"Yeah, what else is new?" Anna shrugged.

"..."

"You'll just have to gallantly fight them off!" she grinned.

"...JUDGMENT!"

Almost all of the mice disintegrated. The remnants looked at the ashes, then at Kratos before screaming like little girls and running back to the

mouse hole they came from with their king.

"Done," Kratos said simply.

"...Of course, in the real Nutcracker the Prince couldn't use 'judgment'..." Anna muttered_._

Kratos shrugged.

_What abou' the stawr!? _

"Huh-? Oh yeah!" Anna said. "We need to get the star back to the top!"

Kratos said nothing.

"...That's your line," Anna said.

"..." Kratos sighed, "I know of a way to get the star back, we must seek out the-..the.."

"Come on, say it," Anna poked him.

"...Must I-?"

"Yes,"

"...Seek out the sugar plum fairy," Kratos muttered.

Anna grinned.

"Right, so then they went through the mouse hole into the Magical Christmas Kingdom!"

The pair appeared in a place that appeared to be made of frosting, candycane forests, gumdrop hills-...cavity central, in layman's terms.

....Needless to say, Anna was ecstatic.

"AWESOME!" she grinned.

_Mouseholes go to candy lawnd?_

"Here they do," Anna grinned.

_I wanna go! I wanna go!_

"Well...all right," Anna smiled, "then the girl and the Nutcracker Prince met a cute little boy from the Christmas Kingdom named Lloyd."

Lloyd appeared by his mother, wearing an adorable little Christmas outfit. Anna picked him up.

"Yay!" Lloyd grinned, hugging his mother.

"And so," Anna smiled at her son, "they began their search for the Sugar Plum Fairy!"

"...Heh," Kratos smirked, ruffling Lloyd's hair.

"Well, let's go!"

The family made their way down the paths without much trouble, gawking at the various candy formations and saying hi to a few pixies and

Christmas animals including seals, penguins, puffins and a baby polar bear. Though Kratos found the whole thing...irritating, Lloyd and Anna's

unending enthusiasm forced him to keep quiet.

"After a while, they saw the Sugar Plum Fairy's castle on the horizon!" Anna chirped.

A palace that looked as if it was made of glass appeared.

"Pretty!" Lloyd said.

"...Kratos, hold him," Anna said.

"What?"

"This is the part where the girl gets kidnapped by the Mouse King," Anna smiled.

No sooner had she spoken, mice appeared and snatched her.

"Mommy-!" Lloyd cried.

"Don't worry sweetie! Daddy will save me-! HEY! KEEP YOUR GRIMY PAWS OFF THERE!" Anna snapped, stomping on one of the mice's feet.

Kratos sighed as they disappeared.

"Well, let's go save your mother," Kratos said, putting Lloyd on his shoulders.

They made their way to the Mouse King's fortress, where Anna was sitting inside waiting to be rescued.

"Ahem," she said, "the poor girl was trapped with no hope of escape, doomed to become the Mouse King's bride."

She looked to her left, where said Mouse King was puckering up.

"...Anytime now, Kratos!" she shouted.

"Don't be like that, sweetcakes-!

"Get AWAY from me!" Anna shouted, running away.

"But I love you-!"

"WHY the heck would you think I'd like you when I've got KRATOS!?"

"He's not that great!"

"BLASPHEMY!" Anna shouted as she ran away.

When Kratos and Lloyd finally got there, they stopped and stared a minute as Anna chased the Mouse King around with a lead pipe she had

gotten somewhere.

"..." Kratos said.

"...Mommy's scarin' the mouse," Lloyd said.

Kratos sighed, waited for the mouse to run by then stuck out his foot, tripping the mouse and then watched as Anna knocked him out with the

lead pipe.

"HAH! I win-! Oh, hi you two!" Anna smiled.

"Hi, Mommy!" Lloyd waved.

"Okay, let's go see the Sugar Plum Fairy!" Anna chirped, like nothing happened.

"..." Kratos said again.

"Yay! Fawy!" Lloyd said.

So then they went all the way back to the Sugar Plum Fairy's castle, finding her sitting on a throne. Surprisingly, she looked a lot like

Martel...possibly because Kratos had barely contributed any 'imagination' to the story thus Anna probed his mind for this character.

"Welcome!" she chirped.

"Martel?" Kratos stared.

"Who? I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy!"

"...Of course,"

"Sugar Plum Fairy, how do we get the star back to the tree?" Anna asked.

"Easy," she smiled, "just close your eyes, click your heels together and say 'there's no place like home'!"

"...Isn't that 'Wizard of Oz'?"

"...Oh yeah, sorry," Ma- the Fairy smiled apologetically, "make a wish on the star and throw it up into the air! Imagine it back where it's

supposed to be and everything will go back to normal!"

"Right!" Anna smiled.

So she took the star, closed her eyes and then threw it up-

"And then suddenly the girl found herself back in her house, waking up to see her parents," she said.

"Anna!" her 'mother' said. "You're awake, sweetie! We're home!"

"Oh mom! There was a Mouse King and a Christmas Kingdom and a Hot Nutcracker-!"

Anna's 'mom' looked at her like she was crazy.

"Oh nevermind..." Anna sighed, "it was just a dream..."

_No it wasn't..._

"Then suddenly, her Uncle came in smiling," Anna grinned.

"Why hello, Anna!" he said. "I've brought someone I want you to meet."

A full-sized Kratos walked in somewhat nervously.

"SKLEE!" Anna clung to him.

"...Merry Christmas..." Kratos smiled weakly.

"And then they lived happily ever after!" Anna chirped, kissing him.

They all appeared back in their own home.

"...That was bowring," Lloyd muttered.

"What?!" Anna gasped.

"It was gwoss, yucky..." Lloyd pouted, "kissin's gwoss."

"Oh? Like this?" Anna kissed Kratos suddenly.

"EW! YUCKY!" Lloyd shouted.

They laughed to themselves and then Anna hugged Lloyd.

"Well, okay, but you liked the part with the candyland though, right?"

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically.

"See? It wasn't THAT bad," Anna grinned.

"...Now I believe it's time for bed," Kratos said with a smile.

"Nooooooo!"

"Lloyd, if you don't go to bed I'll kiss Daddy again," Anna warned.

Lloyd yelped, jumped off the couch and ran to his room. Anna and Kratos laughed.

"He's so cute, isn't he?" she grinned.

"...Yes," Kratos admitted.

"...Y'know, you're cute too," Anna smiled at him.

"..."

They kissed again...

"EW!"

"Go to bed, Lloyd!!"

**n.n Cuuuuuuutteeee...n.n**

**....Now I must find another candycane, even if I just had one...(shifty eyes) **

**Merry Christmas! :D**


	4. Story About A Star

**...I just lost the data for four of my stories. Darn floppy disks, I know I'm out of date but c'mon! Oh well, at least this wasn't included on **

**that list...n.n'**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Now if you'll excuse me, I need a candycane. ...Even though I've had two today, but oh well...cough.**

**Merry Christmas, everyone! :D Maybe I'll write another story next year. n.n **

**Story About a Star**

Kratos woke up in the dead of night, looking across at his sleeping wife. Slowly he moved from the bed so as not to disturb her, kissing her

forehead lightly before wandering into the living room. He looked upon the glowing tree with a slight frown, the light reflecting reds and blues

and golds onto his pale face. Slowly he walked forward and then looked at it some more...beautiful. He had yet to tell Anna, but...this was one

of the first Christmas trees he had had. Aside from the ones they had managed to get before they had Lloyd, when they were on the run,

Kratos had never had a tree for Christmas. In fact, it wasn't even called 'Christmas' back then... The holiday was ancient, even more so than

himself, but the traditions associated with it had changed so much over the years that he had barely recognized it. The Christmas Tree was one

of them, one of the things he didn't understand. When had it started? Two, three, maybe four-hundred years ago? He sighed. ...Oh well, some

things were still the same...

"Daddy?"

Kratos flinched and turned to the side, Lloyd waddling into the dark room.

"Lloyd, what are you doing up?" he scoffed.

"Can't sweep..." the boy mumbled sheepishly.

"..."

"Whatcha doin' up, Daddy...?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head to the side.

Kratos said nothing, looking at his son and then back at the only source of light, the tree.

"...Daddy?"

"Nothing, Lloyd," he sighed, "...now, let's get you back to bed-"

"But Daddy...!" Lloyd whined as his father picked him up. "I'm not twired!"

"...Lloyd, you need to go to sleep, tomorrow's Christmas," he said, "you need your rest."

"I don' wanna..." the boy whimpered, "I'm not sweepy..."

Kratos sighed, holding his son a minute before a thought struck him.

"...I'll make you a deal, I'll tell you a story if you go to be right after, agreed?"

"A stowy-!?" Lloyd's face lit up in a grin.

"Shhh...yes, a story," Kratos smiled softly, "but only if you promise to go to bed afterward."

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically as Kratos seated himself down on a chair, looking up at the star on top of the tree.

"...This is a very old story, Lloyd," he stated, "...not a lot of people know it, anymore."

"Does Mommy?" Lloyd asked.

"...No, not even Mommy,"

Lloyd stared in awe at his father, as if it was the most amazing thing he had ever heard.

"...All right, a long, long long time ago..." Kratos started, "the world was a very different place."

"How?" Lloyd asked.

"...There was a very large desert, and there were large cities, kingdoms, in the desert," Kratos stated, "and in this desert lived many kings, and

this story is centered around a special king."

"Really?"

"A baby king," Kratos said softly, "but he's not what our story is about... You see, in the desert, in a small home surrounded by sheep a Mother

and Father lived with their son-"

"Like us!" Lloyd grinned.

"...Yes," Kratos smiled softly, "..like us."

The surroundings changed and they found themselves in a desert, a small home sat by a small oasis, where herd animals wandered about. A

man and woman stood off a ways and smiled as their son ran toward them.

_His name was Aaron,_ Kratos said.

"Happy Birthday, Aaron," the mother smiled.

_It was Aaron's tenth birthday, so his parents made him a gift,_

_What kinda gift...?_

_It was a drum, and when Aaron began to play the drum, the animals started to dance._

"My very own drum!" Aaron said, beating it. "I'll treasure it always!"

Then he began to parade around with his drum, and then a camel, a donkey and a lamb began to follow him around, dancing as much as

animals can dance.

_Animals can' dance, Daddy!?_

_It's a story, Lloyd,_

_Can Noishey dance?_

_...You'd be surprised what Noishe can do..._

_Huh?_

_No, anyway, the boy was very happy with his family until..._

The scene froze.

_...Until what, Daddy?_

"..." Kratos stopped, the world coming back into focus.

"...Daddy?"

"...Until something bad happened," Kratos said, "...something bad happened, and the boy was left all alone..."

He said the sentence slowly, a frown creeping into his face. ...He shouldn't tell this story, he just shouldn't, something....something scared him

to tell this story...not now.

"Daddy?"

"...Lloyd..."

The man hugged his child closely, kissing his forehead. Aaron's parents died, and he was left to wander the desert alone with nothing but

animals for his companions... Alone. Something about the thought of an orphaned boy almost made him near tears with Lloyd in his arms...

"...Daddy?"

"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Kratos forced a smile, "...I'll tell you a different story-"

Lloyd hugged his father.

"..."

"Daddy, it's gonna be okay," he said, "so don't be sad..."

"...I love you," Kratos said softly, hugging him.

The father and son held each other for what was only a few minutes but felt like hours before Kratos coughed and brought his head up. He

said he'd tell Lloyd a story so he had better-...Lloyd was asleep. The Seraph sighed at the child in his arms, smiling softly as he kissed his

forehead. He'd tell him that story when he was older...not when he was still young. If he told him what happened to the boy's parents...it

would scare him. He'd tell him in time, but for now...the child needed to go to bed. Kratos picked up his son and headed for the room, then

stopped. He looked back over his shoulder at the tree, his eyes resting on the top where a star shined brightly.

"..."

* * *

"AHAHAHAHHA!"

"Really, Genis! It's not funny!" Lloyd shouted, red in the face. "I- I was just...saying stuff!"

Kratos raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at his son snapping at the laughing half-elf boy, his curiosity enticing him to listen in.

What was so funny? They really had to be getting inside...Flanior was cold, especially during this time of year... He sighed. Part of him couldn't

believe he had been talked into spending Christmas with this group, on the coldest place on either world, of all places, but he was...also glad,

in a sense...

"What are you guys laughing about?" Sheena asked.

"Nothing," Genis grinned, "Lloyd's just making his yearly fool out of himself."

"Hey-!"

"Fool...?" Presea trailed.

"Yeah, get this," Genis grinned, "every year he starts going on and on about the weirdest things!"

"I- I don't know WHY," Lloyd blushed, "I just...do!"

"Lava crocodiles, Lloyd?!" Genis grinned.

Kratos stopped dead in his tracks.

"L-look-"

"And undead laundry? C'mon!" the half-elf laughed.

"Woah, bud," Zelos smirked, "you been drinking too much eggnog or what?"

"S-stop it!" Lloyd blushed.

"And then there's his story about the talking bird and the kind maple trees-"

"Not maple trees! Pine, Fir, and Spruce trees!" Lloyd blushed. "The Maple tree was a jerk!"

Everyone in the group began to laugh or snicker, depending on their level of self-control. Kratos however, merely stared in horror at his

son..though not horror so much as shock.

"I thought it was a very nice story!" Colette said. "How those trees helped the poor little bird..."

"Trees helping a bird?" Regal raised a bemused eyebrow.

"I-it's just a-!" Lloyd stammered, red beyond all reason.

"And don't even get him started on the mouseholes-!"

"I KNOW THEY DON'T LEAD TO CANDYLAND!!"

Everyone stared at Lloyd, all traces of laughter momentarily disappearing.

"...WHAT?" Zelos said.

"...I...um..." Lloyd bit his lip, coughing, "I...when I was little I thought..."

He coughed, looking away.

"...I thought mouseholes lead to candyland," he muttered.

Silence.

"AHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAAHH!"

"Sh-shut up!" Lloyd blurted. "L-let's just go to the inn already!"

With that the poor embarrassed teen stalked off for the inn, everyone else laughing int tow...with the exception of Kratos. The mercenary

stood there in the snow, staring off after his son. ...Lava crocodiles, undead laundry, a bird and evergreens, mouseholes that lead to

'candyland'... How was it possible? How could Lloyd have remembered...? He shook his head and then sighed, following them into the inn.

It was a few hours later when Kratos found himself wandering out into the night, out to the terrace where he had spoken with Lloyd before.

...Everyone was loud, noisy...he knew this was a time for celebration, but it was also a time for peace, was it not? Unless that had changed as

well... He sighed and then looked up at the clear night sky. The stars were shining bright, and one in particular caught his eye. The brightest,

most beautiful star in the dark abyss...

"D- Kratos?"

Kratos turned to see Lloyd walking toward him, bundled in his winter wear.

"...Lloyd, what are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I was going to ask you that," Lloyd said, "why'd you just wander off?"

"..."

Kratos looked up at the sky again, ignoring his son. A few seconds later the soft crunching of snow alerted him to Lloyd's coming. The teen

stopped beside his father and then looked up at the sky.

"...Pretty," he said simply.

"Indeed,"

"...I used to look up at the stars with you," Lloyd stated, "...remember, I told you about that?"

Kratos nodded.

"...I remember now...that..." Lloyd trailed, "...my father, which..you know, you...you told me when I was little that there was a story about a

star..."

Kratos jerked and then looked over at Lloyd, who was till gazing up at the sky.

"...But I could never remember it," he said simply.

"...You didn't forget it," Kratos said slowly, "...I...never told you."

"You didn't?" Lloyd asked, turning to look at his father.

"...No," Kratos admitted.

"....Could you... That is, do you think you could...?" Lloyd trailed, flushing somewhat.

"...Do you think I could what?"

"...Tell me now?" Lloyd finished, blushing.

The two stared at each other a moment before a soft smile came across Kratos' lips, startling his son.

"...Very well," Kratos said, "...a long time ago, even back before I was born, the world was different."

The surroundings changed to a desert-

"W-woah!!" Lloyd yelped, clinging to Kratos. "H-how did you do that?!"

"Do what?" Kratos asked.

"Th-the- we were just in Flanior! Where-!?" Lloyd panicked.

Kratos chuckled.

"Oh yes...you don't remember," he smiled softly.

"R-remember what?!" Lloyd cried.

"Your mother and I used to tell you stories all the time," Kratos said gently, "...odd things usually happened when we told them, but eventually

we just stopped questioning it."

Lloyd stared at him.

"Anna said it was 'our imagination'..." Kratos trailed, "...I'll never understand it, but..."

"...WAIT!" Lloyd shouted suddenly. "Y-you-! So those stories about the bird-"

"I told you that one,"

"A-and the lava crocodiles and the undead laundry and the mouseholes-?!"

"Those were your mother," Kratos said with a slight chuckle.

"You mean it all actually happened?!"

"Yes,"

Silence.

"...HAH! I'm NOT crazy!" Lloyd grinned. "Hah hah, I'll make Genis eat his words later..."

Lloyd gloated to himself a minute before he looked at his father and blushed.

"Er...sorry, keep going,"

"...As I was saying..."

Once again he told of Aaron and his drum, but this time he came to the part where he had last left off.

"...Then one day, bandits attacked the family," Kratos said simply.

The desert home went up in flames in the dead of night, the livestock in a frenzy as Lloyd watched the father get struck down, the mother

screaming as they came toward her.

_W-wait-!_ Lloyd said_ That's-!_

_That's how the story goes, Lloyd, don't worry...._

_But-! ...Hey, why are our voices all echoey?_

_...I told you I didn't understand it, yes?_

_Well...yeah but-...nevermind._

_...At any rate, from that day on Aaron began to roam the desert with his animals._

The boy and his furry friends made their way through the desert, occasionally Aaron would play his drum and the animals would dance to it.

_Until one day, a greedy man that ran performances saw him, _

"Look at that! I simply must have them for my show caravan!" he said. "Quickly, the rope!"

Then two of his lackeys appeared next to him.

_They descended on Aaron, and though he put up a fight he ultimately lost._

"Join my caravan, boy!" he said. "We will be rich, rich!"

"No!" Aaron shouted. "I hate people, all people! Why do I care about entertaining them!?'

_Aaron hated mankind, people of any sort, because of what had happened to his family._

_...What? But-_

_He was all alone, Lloyd, all alone with no one to bother to care about him_

_That's horrible..._

_...Yes,_

"Listen, boy, you're coming with us whether you like it or not!"

_So Aaron and his friends were dragged through the desert toward the city, into the night before they came across something that interested them._

"Look! A caravan! Of...of kings!" the show-master said. "One...two...three! Three kings!"

Three kings were overseeing their men packing away the camp, fretting about like bees.

_For above them, a miraculous sight glistened. A star, brighter than any ever seen, with a tail like a kite, hovered over them._

_A star with a tail? You mean it was long?_

_Yes._

In the sky appeared said star, glinting and shimmering with unearthly beauty.

_Wow...it's... Is this what you were talking about? The Star? _

_Yes. The Star was important, you see, the three kings- or the wisemen, as they were called, were following the star._

_Huh? _Lloyd wondered._ How can you follow a star?_

_They were attempting to get to the area directly under the star, where they believed they would find something wonderful._

_Like what?_

_Let's not get ahead, Lloyd, be patient._

_Oh all right..._

"Wait, wait!" the show-master said. "Please, your highnesses, allow us to perform for you!"

"We have no time for making merry," one king said, "we have much traveling to do."

"W-what? With all due respect, no one travels the desert by night," he said.

"We do," said the second king, "for we follow the star."

"Yes well...just a short performance-?"

_What? He didn't see the star?_

_He saw it, he just disregarded it. It didn't mean anything to him._

_...But...it's beautiful..._

_...Yes, it is._

"No, we must hurry-"

_It was then that one of the camels being loaded for the trip stumbled onto the ground, unable to travel._

_What? Did it hurt itself?_

_Stop interrupting, Lloyd,_

_Oh, sorry...heh heh..._

_It's all right...ahem, seeing his chance, the show master spoke up._

"Ah...your highnesses, I have a camel I could sell you!"

"What? No you don't," Aaron said.

"No, but you do," the show-master smirked.

"Why you-!"

_But in the end, the show master made his profit off of Aaron's camel-_

_Um, sorry to interrupt again but uh...what's a camel?_

The desert disappeared and Kratos found himself staring at his son on the terrace above Flanior.

"...Pardon?" Kratos asked.

"...What's a camel?" Lloyd asked sheepishly.

"...Ah yes, they've been extinct for quite a while..." Kratos smiled softly, "...they're large animals that live in hot environments, they were used

for transportation."

"Oh..." Lloyd trailed.

"...Why didn't you ask about them before?" Kratos asked.

"I didn't want to interrupt,"

"..."

"What?"

Kratos shook his head.

"Let's continue..."

The desert reformed itself.

_And so Aaron was subdued and his camel was taken by the wiseman._

"Look at all this money, ahah!" the show-master crowed. "I'm done with you, boy! I got enough from your camel!"

Aaron said a few very rude things to the man before walking off in the direction the kings had left in.

"Stupid showman..." he muttered, "I'd like to juggle HIM around..."

The sheep and donkey following him nodded enthusiastically.

_...I don't recall them talking like that..._

_Huh? What are you talking about?_

_...Nothing._

Aaron and the animals looked around.

"Where did they go?"

_It was then that he remembered that the kings said they followed the star._

"So if I follow the star...we'll find him," Aaron said, "let's do it."

_And so they began to follow the star a town came into sight, and Aaron found that many other people, shepherds, mostly, had been following the _

_same star to the town gates._

_Why?_

"They're all following the same star...?" Aaron trailed. "...Well, it's none of my concern, I need to find the kings."

Aaron walked into the town until he found where everyone else was going.

_Then, across the road he saw what appeared to be a manger- a barn of sorts._

_Oh._

_The star was shining down on the manger, and many people had gathered around it, including the kings._

"There they are!" Aaron said. "And there's our friend!"

Aaron pointed toward the line of camels that had come with the kings, singling out his companion.

_Aaron was so overjoyed to see his friend he dashed across the road, but did not look where he was going._

A wagon of sorts pulled by horses careened down the street.

"WOAH!"

Aaron managed to get out of the way, as did his donkey, but his sheep...wasn't that lucky.

_The lamb died?! Well that sucks...this is kind of a sad story._

_I'm not done yet, Lloyd,_

_But-_

_Just be patient, Lloyd._

_Mmmeeeeephh...._

_...Aaron picked up his friend and wept, then a thought struck him._

"The kings...the kings are wise, they'll know how to save him!"

The boy made his way through the crowd towards the kings.

"Please, please! I need help!"

"What is it that ails you, boy?" one king asked.

"Please, your highness, my lamb..."

The king examined the creature.

"He is gravely wounded, I do no think there is anything I can do,"

"But...you're a king!"

"Yes, a mortal king," he said, ".,..but there may be a king that can help you."

They looked into the manger, where a woman was holding a baby beside her spouse.

"...The babe?" Aaron stared. "But how-?"

"Present him with a gift, and I am sure he will heed your plea,"

_...The baby...?_

_...I suppose this story did die out, then..._

_Huh?_

Kratos looked at his son as the brunette stared questioningly at him.

"...This story was around thousands of years before I was born," he said, "a very common religion back then hailed that a baby was born from

a young woman that would be the savior. They called him the son of God."

"They worshiped a god instead of a goddess?" Lloyd stared.

Kratos smirked slightly.

"Yes, I imagine it seems strange to you..."

"Well...not really, our 'goddess' wasn't real anyway," Lloyd said, "hey wait a minute...did you guys get the whole cover story about the

'Chosen' from this story?"

"...You could say that..." Kratos admitted.

"You cheated," Lloyd said.

"Not 'cheated'...more like copied," he shrugged.

"Right...wait, so the baby in this story is the uh...'savior'?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

Kratos nodded.

"Keep that in mind and you'll understand the rest of the story,"

"Okay..."

_And so Aaron slowly approached the family and looked upon the babe._

"..."

He took out his drum and began to play.

_And since he had no gift to give, he gave of himself the only thing he had, his own talent._

Aaron played his drum for the family and everyone there, human and animal, began to move softly to the beat.

_Aaron put all of his heart into his performance as a gift, all of his love for his lamb driving the music._ _When he finally finished he looked upon the _

_smiling babe and found himself staring in awe._

"...It's the most beautiful sight I've ever seen..." he whispered.

"Well done, lad," the king from before said, "you gave the most precious thing anyone can give, a gift of themselves. And look..."

_Aaron gasped before grinning in joy, his lamb running to him, healthy._

The boy hugged his animal, and his donkey and camel ran over to him as well.

_So it ended all right?_

_Yes, Lloyd_

_...A gift of themselves..._

"And she brought forth her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, placing him in a manger," Kratos recited, "and he shall be

called 'Immanuel', God with us."

"...That's a really old story," Lloyd smiled.

"...Perhaps,"

"...The best gift...is something you give up from yourself?" Lloyd bit his lip.

"Yes, that's what it's saying," Kratos nodded, "and that's what I have come to believe. ...According to the scriptures, God gave his only son to

the world as a sign of his love. So yes, in essence the story is trying to say that that is the best gift. A gift of love."

Lloyd remained silent for a minute before he laughed, grinning.

"...What is it?" Kratos asked.

"You just gave me a great gift, then," he smiled at his father.

"Hm?"

"You told me a story, you took some of your time and effort to do something for me," Lloyd said, "so...thank you."

"..."

Lloyd looked up at the sky, examining the stars in the clear night.

"...Though that story wasn't a lot about a star," he said sheepishly.

"...Perhaps not," Kratos said, "...but they say that the star can still be seen, at this night every year."

"Really? Have you ever seen it?" Lloyd asked.

"...I'm not sure," Kratos stated, "...but...there always seems to be one star that stands out on this night..."

"Like that one?"

Both males looked up into the sky and Kratos blinked a bit, looking at the star Lloyd had pointed at. A star not much larger than all the others,

but...alluring, in a way, shone down on the world. It was just a bit brighter, just a bit...more oddly shaped, with a long 'tail', but...looking at it

wouldn't allow them to look away easily. It was...entrancing, simple, but...beautiful. In fact, it was the same star that had caught his eye

before...

"..." Kratos nodded slowly, "like that one."

"...Um...D- Kratos? I've got a confession to make,"

"Hm?" Kratos looked at him.

"...I...didn't get you a present," Lloyd blushed, glancing away, "...I wanted to, but I couldn't think of anything that you would like...so...I didn't

get you anything, I'm sorry."

Kratos smiled softly.

"It's quite all right, I-"

"But I've got something for you now," Lloyd said, smiling as he blushed.

"...What?"

"...If the best gift is a gift of yourself...then..."

The teen slowly walked closer to his father, looking up at him and locking eyes for a moment. Kratos remained motionless before Lloyd hugged

him, startling the Seraph.

"...Merry Christmas, Dad," Lloyd said, holding him tightly.

"..."

Kratos hugged his child back and as the star shined down on the world, the angel was certain he could never want anything else.

**n.n A gift of yourself...this is kinda what this is for all of you, right? I'm giving you all a gift of myself...so I hope you all like it, and all **

**have a Merry Christmas with your loved ones. Or...you know, you're allowed to say 'Happy Hanukkah' or whatever else you want right **

**back at me. :D Merry Christmas!!**

**Hope you liked it, baby sister. n.n Love you.**


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